U.N. watchdog to press Iran for access in nuclear probe

By Fredrik Dahl

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the United Nations nuclear watchdog began a new round of talks on Friday in an attempt to seal a deal to resume a long-stalled probe into suspected atomic weapon research in the Islamic state.

The United States, European powers and Israel want to curb Iranian atomic activities they suspect are intended to produce bombs. Tehran says the aims of its nuclear program are purely civilian.

World powers will be watching the IAEA-Iran meeting in Vienna closely to judge whether Tehran is ready to make concessions before its broader talks with them later this month in Moscow on their decade-old nuclear dispute.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will press Iran for an agreement that would give its inspectors immediate access to the Parchin military complex, where it believes explosives tests relevant for the development of nuclear bombs have taken place.

Iran has said it will work with the U.N. agency to prove that such allegations are "forged and fabricated".

Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh smiled but declined to comment to reporters as he entered the IAEA's headquarters in the Austrian capital for his meeting with senior agency officials.

Both Iran and the IAEA say significant progress has been made on the so-called "structured approach" document that would set the overall terms for the IAEA's investigation.

But differences remain on how the IAEA should conduct its probe, and the United States said this week it doubted whether Iran would give the U.N. agency the kind of access to sites, documents and officials it needs.